Base 3.5L Makes 283 HP, 255 LB-FT

Ford announced official output figures and tow ratings today for the 2015 F-150's new twin-turbo 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 and base 3.5-liter V-6. The 2.7-liter EcoBoost produces 325 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque, and is rated in a rear-drive F-150 to tow 8500 pounds with a payload capacity of 2250 pounds.

Ford says power-to-weight ratio for a 2015 2.7-liter EcoBoost F-150 is improved by 15 percent compared to a 2014 model with the 5.0-liter V-8 thanks to the lighter aluminum construction. The new boosted V-6 uses compacted graphite iron (CGI) for its engine block, the same material Ford's 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel V-8 is made out of. Ford notes that this is the first application of a CGI block in a gas engine.The base 3.5-liter V-6, which replaces the previous 3.7-liter, makes 283 hp and 255 lb-ft. That's down 19 hp and 23 lb-ft from its predecessor, but Ford says the new engine's independent variable camshaft timing delivers torque across a wide rpm range along with improved fuel economy. The naturally aspirated 3.5-liter also gets a die-cast aluminum engine block, six-bolt main bearing caps, a fully counterweighted forged crankshaft, and cast exhaust manifolds for heavy-duty use. The engine is rated to tow a maximum of 7600 pounds, while payload is capped at 1910 pounds.

To show how the new twin-turbo engine stacks up against the competition, Ford shot a video of a towing test conducted on Arizona's punishing Davis Dam road. In the video, a 2015 F-150 Lariat equipped with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 challenges a 2014 Ram 1500 V-6 EcoDiesel and 2014 Chevrolet Silverado with the 5.3-liter V-8 to an uphill towing battle. All trucks are four-wheel-drive models, and hitched to identical 7000-pound trailers.Ford F-150 marketing manager Eric Peterson gave us a little background on the test:

"The reason we did the video is because all of this may look good on paper but we wanted to see how it looked in the real world. We easily beat the Ram and won two out of three times against the 5.3L Silverado. These two new powertrains, the 2.7-liter EcoBoost and 3.5-liter V-6, are proving to be great engines and allowing us to save weight without sacrificing anything."For an example of those weight savings, Peterson points to the 2015 Ford F-150 Lariat 2.7-liter EcoBoost, which weighs 732 pounds less than a 2014 model equipped with the 5.0-liter V-8. We're told the 2015 F-150 Lariat will weigh just under 5000 pounds.Check out the video below to watch the new engine in action.Source: Ford

I would like to see the fuel economy average of these three after a couple of days of towing the trailers. Because that's great that you made it up the hill faster but if you have to stop at the pump every 400 miles then you're losing that time at the gas station.

I am not a Ford guy but I think the video is not complete. I know they said the Chevy won the last heat because the temp was cooler. But could it be because the ford ran more heats? This could be a reliability problem. Because on my turbo heat imparted to the air coming in to the
engine by the turbocharger reduces the power output and partially
offset the gain produced by the turbocharge. So I am thinking the game has changed on the turbo if it could not keep up in cooler weather. But then again Heat could of sapped the V8 way more meaning that if you live in a hot state buy a ford all other see the bowtie. I am trying to figure out the chevy winning the last heat I know someone on here can enlighten me.

@The Ford Guy No one's acting like this is the only one you can tow with. However, this is the one being FEATURED BY FORD as TOW-CAPABLE. This is probably gonna be mid-range, with the standard engine below, and the 5.0 above. Also, should a guy named "The Ford Guy" really be calling others fanboys??

I don't live in the desert, where the temps are that high, the video points out in cooler temps the V8 won out. Would that have been the case for the diesel? How different do you think the results would have been if it was mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies? I'd be interested in a test video that wasn't cherry picked by the manufacturer.

Great job lightening the truck . 2.7 turbo as expected performs well and should have good mileage.

WHY another turbo v6 in the lineup? Why no new V8 ? Why not test their own 5.0l to show the differences? Why does it tow so much less than the Silverado (much lower rating) ? Why didnt they show how much fuel used in the testing vs. competition?

Why did it take going all aluminum to shed weight to be competitive ? Why did the base V6 lose SOO much power ? Why dont they test base V6 models the same way? Why does this truck lose so much weight yet the sports halo car gains weight?

Are the warranties better now ? they were WAY behind the others prior......Why? Why didnt they have LAST YEARS truck with the 5.0L in the tow test , just to show the differences?

Just curious......lets try to keep it civil......these are legit questions......

@The Ford Guy @Shriker66 Yeah, who's cryin n whinin here?? Simple fact is that this thing is made for New Yorkers or folks who don't do much work with their trucks (which, fair enough, is the general public nowadays). It might be able to tow a camper, but who in all honesty will want to sit and listen to 4000rpms for 8 hours a day on that cross-country toadtrip??

You know you have a choice. You don't have to be a hating as dumb ass. What are you towing to the moon or something? Show me this 8hr hill climb of yours. Moron. So I guess there's no down hills or flat areas obviously where this is gonna be towing. According to you. Use your brain a lil.

@Shriker66 How could an engine with half the displacement beat up on another gigantic antiquated GM pushrod engine? and look so much better doing it? And probably do it while pulling fewer RPMs? And with a lower water temp? And how long before GM throws in the towel and gets their own turbo v6?

@The Ford Guy@Nick28 I don't hate it. I'm simply pointing out that this powertrain is not the one you'd want for towing. Yes, people will probably buy this intending to use it for work, and I promise you they will be dissappointed. Not saying the truck can't do it, just might wanna but the 5.0 in here. If you needed the 6.2 of the previous one, you will have to get the 250 now.

I don't have time to bark out a technical discourse on the nuances of a turbocharged V6. All I can say is, when you control more of the variables [combustion chamber atmosphere], you control the end result [combustion force].

@The Ford Guy@Nick28@Todd27@Shriker66 I didnt do any wild guessing , just asked some directly related simple questions NO ONE seems able to even try to answer ......was hoping to see what some Ford folks thought ......

@Shriker66@The Ford Guy@Nick28@Todd27 Like I said, while it has lower torque peak, it's still going to need to rev higher and more than a standard v8 engine, especially pushrod (which i'd rather have a pushrod anyday, and it doesn't rev as much) With that being said, I'd love to see the durability of this engine.

@Nick28 Yes people are gonna buy this to tow everyday. People are going to max it out everyday. People are gonna floor it everyday when they tow for 8 hrs. New York??? Never mind the performance numbers or styling. It gonna sound crappy all revved up. You hate this truck huh?? lol Get in line. Lots more like you coming.

@Nick28 You realize that a turbo doesn't need to wrap up the RPMs to access its power, right? Of course you don't or else you wouldn't have brought up high RPMs. A V8 needs to hunt gears more than a turbo V6 does. How do I know? I have a turbo V6. Even in every day driving, the EcoBoost downshifts much less than the 5.0 (company truck). I'll take the drivability of a turbo every time over a naturally aspirated engine. And for towing? Oh baby, EcoBoost all the way.

You can give it all the power and torque you want, but with such a small displacement it's gonna be an awful loud and noisy (as we do hear in the video). It's gonna be at 4500-ish rpms towing a big camper or boat or being at max payload, so this really a city-slicker-truck. Also no way in hell that little thing beat the 5.3 Silverado, but then again this is a manufacturer video, so it's gonna be pretty manipulative.

@The Ford Guy@Nick28 NO WAY!!! A SIX-SPEED???? IN 2014???? Well duh, anything else would be scadalous. But so what anyways?? It's gonna be high-revving, regardless of how much a fanboy you are, that's just the facts. All vehicles rev higher when they're loaded up, but the smaller the dicplacement, the whinier it is. Add the turbos on top of this, bam, it's a whole dang choir under the hood.

Doesnt this engine make 80% of its pulling power at low revs? Isn't that what turbos are for?? Massive torque or pulling power??? You won't have to rev it to pull. I think you're thinking tundra or something.

@The Ford Guy Yeah I'm sure. Just pointing out facts here. My father lives in Europe, drives a Volvo V70 2.4D. Lots of torque there, so even that little wagon can pull a big boat, however, it won't do it at 1500 rpm. You'll be doin about 3500 rpms, which gets annoying after a few mins of constant rumbling. I'm basing these statements on my own experience with small displacements, this being the most recent. Just because your a big fanboy doesn't mean Ford is exempt from reality.

@Raul not always....small turbos boost up quickly , big ones not so much , some are for high rpms some lower......staged turbos are kewl in they have a small one that quickly spools up at low revs then a larger or same can add boost at higher rpms......lots of variation.

These are probably pretty small , spool quickly and work well at lower to mid rpms best.....just a guess.

@Nick28 You seem to be making a lot of uninformed guess and some assumptions on things you know nothing about. The whole reason for using a direct injected, twin turbo, gasoline engine is to get diesel like power at low rpms while also getting v8 like hp up top. Take the 3.5L ecoboost: 365hp@5000rpm and 420 ft-lbs @ 2500 rpm. The GM 5.3L V8: 355hp @ 5600 rpm and 383 @ 4100 rpm. Not only does the 3.5L ecoboost make 10 more horsepower at 600 rpms less, but it make 37 more ft-lbs at 1600 rpms less!

Chances are high that the 2.7L ecoboost will make it's peak numbers at similar rpms to the 3.5L. So this in fact means that it will need to rev the same if not less than the GM 5.3L to pull the same trailer. It also means it won't be hunting for gears constantly since it can stay at low rpm's and produce substantially more power.

@ma55-hole@Nick28 I know squat about turbos, you're absolutely right. I'm making these statements based on MY experiences with small dicplacement engines. These have been NON-turbo. If the turbos make such a huge difference, then that's great!

@The Ford Guy@Nick28 BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE. Is that hard to get? Listen, from what I've seen on older turbo vehicles, it hasn't helped too much, tho they weren't trucks and were simply loaded with luggage. HOWEVER, it's still fact that it WILL REV HIGHER as you LOAD IT UP. That goes for all engines, turbo or not, truck or not. And when you get high revs it's better to listen to NA V8s, imo, than turbowhines n 6cyls (never liked their sound). Also, durability will still be a point for the V8s.

@Raul My experiences are real world. So are yours. However, this test being done by Ford can't be counted as real world (neither can any test being done by any manufacturer really), as it will be tailored to fit one truck. Let's wait and see what happens when 3rd parties get their hands on these things, then I'll gladly kiss the F150's ass (it's tailgate maybe?), but until then, I will obviouslt base my views on what I have experienced. And so will you and pretty much every one else.

@The Ford Guy Listen kid, I've driven them, but that doesn't mean I necessarily know anything about them. Just like I have driven a Prius, but I don't like them, so I can't be bothered to read up on it. Also, if you're so tired of this thread, why the hell do you keep comin back you big moron??

@Shriker66@Raul I think you are right in that they are small turbos. If you look at dyno graphs of Ecoboost F150's that have been tuned, they have a big torque spike at ~3000rpm and then it steadily drops off since the turbos can not feed enough air to keep up with the engine. When I say a spike, I mean it hits 450-500 ft-lbs @ 3000 rpm and then drops to 350 by 5000rpm. Thats wheel torque too, so its pretty impressive.